Divorce affects most children in the short run, but research suggests that kids recover rapidly after the initial blow. In a 2002 study psychologist E. Mavis Hetherington of the University of Virginia and her then graduate student Anne Mitchell Elmore found that many children experience short-term negative effects from divorce, especially anxiety, anger, shock and disbelief. These reactions typically diminish or disappear by the end of the second year. Only a minority of kids suffer longer.
The judgment also granted his ex-wife property worth 130.5 million francs ($146 million) in property in Gstaad, Switzerland, where the couple owned two swanky chalets. It awarded his ex-wife two other pieces of real estate in the ultra-wealthy area of Geneva known as Cologny, where the couple once lived together, but listed no value for either address. And it confirmed her custody of their 13-year-old daughter, Anna. The couple also has an adult daughter, Ekaterina.
It's always about money, even if it isn't. Estate planning, especially in a second marriage, can require a lot of thought and effort. Does everything go to the surviving spouse, does it get split with the kids, does it go to the wife first, and what's left goes to the kids? If it goes to the spouse directly, the kids generally see that as you just stole from them. If it goes to the spouse first, then what is left over goes to them, then every dollar she spends is seen as taking money directly out of out their pockets, slowly, for the rest of her life. Either way, there is a lot of tension that does not get better over time. Even if the kids do not care about money, they care that the spouse (who is not their mom) is getting it.
Many couples prefer estate plans that maintain their privacy when given the choice. Nevertheless, this tends to not be a dominant issue with most couples. Recently, however, there has been a significant increase in elderly individuals being the targets of fraudulent schemes and borderline fraudulent solicitations. As a result, to the extent than an estate plan can protect a married couple’s privacy especially as they age, this may help protect the surviving spouse from being targeted by such schemes.
4. Get your kids involved in a personal foundation. If you have children still living with you, creating a personal foundation can be a wonderful opportunity to support causes you believe in, get a nice tax deduction, and more importantly to our point, teach kids about money. One of my clients sold his business and overnight was worth more than $25 million. He and his wife had three young kids and they were worried that the dad’s strong work ethic would be lost on the kids now that they could have anything they wanted. We created a personal foundation, and because it was required to disburse 5% of the foundation’s balance each year, we gave each family member the responsibility of researching a cause and donating 1%. This got each of the kids excited about their own cause and seeing how their money could have an impact. It was a great learning experience for the whole family.
The judge could have split this asset 50/50 as was done with the other assets. Instead, the partnership, valued at the commencement of the case at $5 million, was split 83/17 in the husband’s favor. In the judge’s disparaging account, “in essence, the wife chose to bite the hand that fed her.” Although the wife was, in the judge’s view, “well within her rights to publicly raise her concerns about domestic violence,” her repeated attacks against him have played a part in diminishing his income.” Moreover, the judge noted, the leak to the media about the hearing aid dispute was both misleading and unnecessary. It suggested that the daughter was deprived of the hearing aids because of the dispute, but in fact it was only a fight about paying the bill after the fact, which was being considered in court. - See more at: http://verdict.justia.com/2014/04/22/high-price-badmouthing-ones-spouse-divorce#sthash.ZrWaF3C0.dpuf
Nick and Jeanine Bergeris married in Maryland in 2006. In June 2010, Jeanine sought and received a restraining order against Nick, which led him to move out. After the order expired six months later, the couple continued to reside in separate residences. They did resume an intermittent sexual relationship, but that ended as well in March 2011. After that time, the parties never spent a night under the same roof and never had in-person intimate contact. But the wife argues, and the husband concedes, that they communicated via telephone calls and text messages that “were of an explicit or provocative sexual nature.” - See more at: http://verdict.justia.com/2014/05/13/married-couples-phone-sex-force-divorce-clock-reset#sthash.7750n7Gy.dpuf
If your ex is ordered to pay debts X, Y and Z and fails to do so, a creditor will come after you if your name is also on the loan agreement. That is the most important thing you need to know when it comes to dividing debt during the divorce process.
If you are seriously thinking about divorce, your spouse probably is too. Find out your rights and clear up your (mis)impressions from frantic, late-night internet searches. Divorce lawyers will talk you through custody issues, list out assets and debts, and calculate the financial turn-over (what will this cost you and what will you get?). Find out your personal best- and worst-case scenarios, because there is no Google search for your divorce.
2. Does my spouse know where all our accounts are located and how to access them? The surviving spouse will need to access money immediately to cover funeral expenses. There may also be hospital bills, and, of course, all of the normal expenses that come with everyday life. Your spouse won't have time to search high and low trying to figure out where the accounts are located or how they can access money. If you can't answer "yes" to this question, you need to make sure your loved ones know where to find this information so as to avoid unnecessary confusion later.
“I have some clients who feel adamant that they made their money and don’t want to give it to anyone,” says Anselmo. Other clients “come with the attitude that they’re going to live forever.” Says Anselmo: “It’s not that they don’t care about leaving a legacy, it’s just that they don’t want to face their mortality.”
Brian J. Higgenbotham, a professor, therapist and associate vice-president for Utah State University Extension, said children who have divorced parents can successfully transition, but they need resources, understanding and comfort.
